Football sled with signals



19 mnllllilllllhflf|% June 195] A. J. GARDENHOUR 2,558,081

FOOTBALL SLED WITH SIGNAL Filed Jan. 23, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 10 mzl June 26, 1951 A. J. GARDENHOURY 2,558,081

FOOTBALL SLED WITH SIGNAL Filed Jan. 23, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 26, 1951 A. J. GARDENHOUR FOOTBALL SLED WITH SIGNAL 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

Filed Jan. 25, 1946 Patented June 26, 1951 UNITED S TATES PATENT OFFICE FOOTBALL SLED WITH SIGNALS :Allen J. Gardenhour, Waynesbormla.

Application January 23, 1946, Serial No5642,788

14 Claims. 1

My invention relates to a device for use (in-footb'all practice, commonly referred to as a charging sled, though capable of embodiment otherwise than in a sled, and it is an object o'f-the same to provide such a device with means for synchroniz- "ing the actions of the squad using thedevi'ce.

Another object is to "provide means useful in speeding up the plays.

Another object is to provide means correlated with -'the actions of the individual players "for in- "dicating that all players are acting in synchronism and, if they are not doing so, to indicate which ones are lagging and how much they are lagging with relation to other players.

Still another object is to provide visual means "for indicating the operations of individual players, coupled with an audible signal "for indicatin the time when all players are conjointly doing their part in blocking or charging.

A further object of the invention is to provide the charging sled with -a 'plura'lityof dummy p'adS which will yield and resist the charging line, permitting the players to charg and block with all the force necessary in a regular gameand without danger of injury to the players.

Another object is to provide a chargin 'sle'd with means for synchronizing in the shortest possible time a complete line of players from the time of charging until th'ey-conta'ct'the dummy 'pads and start the sled into forward motion.

Another object is to provide a charging fsled adapted to provide means whereby a coach can readily teach the proper positions -for the head, shoulders, legs, arms and body of 'the'players and can drillthem accordingly, and can develope'fifectively arm charges on the defense and leg exercises foroifense. I

Another object is to provide a charging sled in the use of which all seven men of 'the football-line "can charge simultaneousl-y'and so force the sled ahead, though it is to be understood that my device can be usefully employed to train'either *one player, or any number up' to the limit ofcapacity of a particular device.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following specification and from the drawings which are made apart 'o'fthe application and in which similar referencecharacters indicate similar parts. In-the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a rear perspectiveo'f the "device ofmy invention,

Fig.2, a transverse section of thesame, approximately at one of the bumper boards hereinafter described,

3, a front perspective,

Fig. 4, another transverse section, approximately at one "of the defense bumpers hereinafter described,

Fig. 1 5., a wiring :diagram,

Fig. 6, a partial :top :plan, showing a bumper board as "seen from above,

Fig. 7., a horizontal section of a bumper board and :its support, and

Fig. '8,faidetail of a circuit closer.

In the -drawings, reference characters 10, 10, indicate the runners or skids of the sled, which have their under faces inclined at each end at 1., 2M, :as usual. These runners and the other main parts of the structure are preferably :made of wood, though metal may be used if desired. The runners are connected by .cross members 1'2, 4'3, and also by a platform It for the coach. :A plank 15 at the upper part of the sled is supported .by uprights [6, l6, mounted on the crossbar 13,-said plank l5 being further supported by diagonal braces 11., 17, here shown as bearing against the bar [:2 at their lower ends, and being suitably afilxed to members 11, 12 and 1-5, as

.m'ay'b'e desired.

Dummy bumper boards H3, H3, are attached to the respective uprights I6, orto the bar 1-3 at suitable points 'by means of heavy hinges 19, 4-9, and the bumper boards are guided forswinging move- :ment toward and from :the body of the device by means 'of bolts 29, 29 (Figs. 2 and 6)., each bolt being :pivotally'connected at one end to a bumper b'oardzby means of a U-shaped bracket .21 fixed aat .itsends :to the bumper board I 8 and having a central 'hole to receive the bolt the hole being large enough to permit the bolt to tilt. At its other -end the bolt passes through a hole in the ,plank 1 5, preferably either atone side of a post [6 or above the upper end of the post. A coil sprin 22 surrounding the bolt bears at one end against the plan 15 and at the other against the bumper and .forces the bumper back so far as permitted by a nutZB-and a locknut 2 5.

.In order to cushion the bumper itis provided with cushioning means in the shape of a bumper pad or dummy here shown asconsisting of a 00v,- ering25 of canvas or leather or other flexible and durable material, inside which there is a padding '26 of cotton or felt, and an inner padding 2! of .Floridamoss, curled hairor other'sprinf fibrous material. The cushioning materials, or at least the padding 21. may be connected to the bumper *by staples'such as sh'ownat 28 to prevent thesame 'fromsagging and working downward to the 'bottom of the "cushion. The outer covering "is se- "56 cure'd'to thez'bumper as by means o f :metallic or by screws or the like, while each plunger is mounted pivotally on a pair of L-shaped brackets 36, 36 having forwardly extending arms through which a bolt 31 passes (Figs. 2 and 7) on which bolt 2. plunger is pivoted by means of an eye at the rear end of the plunger, the plunger passing through holes in the post 16 and the insulating block 35, as shown in Fig. '7, and at 3| in Fig. 8. A conductor 33 is attached to each plunger by means of a screw 39 passing through the plunger, as shown in Fig. '7, and another conductor 40 is attached to one of the stationary contact members 33, 34, as also shown in Figs. '7 and 8. A conducting link 4| connects members 33, 34 (Fig. 8).

At convenient points other cooperating parts are located. Thus a battery box 42 is located on the platform l4, an audible signal member 43, here shown as a horn of the type commonly used on automobiles is located on one of the braces l1, said horn having a lead 55 connecting it in the circuit later described, and an electric control box 44 is mounted on a plank 45 carried by a pair of said braces, said box including a control panel 46 (Fig. 5) which panel carries colored lights positioned so as to be readily visible to the coach. The box 44 also contains a main power switch 41 and a horn switch 48, indicated in Fig. 5.

The wiring diagram of Fig. 5 shows in diagrammatic form a plunger 3| for each line position of right and left ends, tackles, guards and for the center, with diagrammatic illustrations of the coacting stationary contact members 33 and 34 for each plunger, the series of plungers being connected by a conductor 31 Elach stationary contact member, comprising coacting members 33, 34, is connected by a conductor 50 to one of the set of lights a, b, c, d, e, f, and g, which lights are indicated as arranged to correspond in position to the corresponding player at the back of the sled. These lights may consist of colored electric bulbs,

if desired, but their nature is immaterial so long as they indicate the respective players and serve in any way to show whether or not the related player has hit the sled in synchronism with the remaining players, and how much out of time any player is with respect to others.

A horn 43 is provided for giving an audible indication when all the plungers 32 of the lower set of circuit closers have been moved into engagement with their coacting stationary contact members 33, 34. For this purpose the said stationary contact members at one end of the set are connected to the horn switch 48 by a conductor 5|, and the remaining stationary contact members are connected to one another by conductors 52, while the movable plungers are connected in pairs by conductors 53. A conductor 54 .leads from the right-hand plunger in Fig. 5 to the horn and another conductor 55 connects the horn to the wire 3|, thus completing the circuit when all plungers have been moved sufliciently by the corresponding players, and supplementing by 4 an audible signal the visible indications afforded by the illumination of all the bulbs a to g.

A lid 56 is provided for closing the control box, and locking means may be provided if desired. A guard 51 is shown as arranged above the fixed circuit closing members 33, 34 for protection of such elements from weather and accidental blows.

It is sometimes thought desirable to provide a set of defense bumpers for defense practice, as for high blocking practice and for teaching the correct positions of parts of the body in the more elevated positions. For these purposes, there may be used intermediate bumpers 58 mounted directly on the plank l5. The bumpers may be like those on levers I8 in construction, but are mounted for horizontal sliding movement by means of bolts 59 sliding in holes in plank l5 and being forced to the rear by coil springs 60, the movement of the bumpers being limited by nuts 6| as in the case of those first described. Circuit closing means may be located on the plank 15, as indicated at 62 in Fig. 1, and the wiring may be similar to what is shown in Fig. 5 for connecting the defense bumpers to visible and audible signaling means.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many changes may be made in the devices herein shown and described, all without departing from the spirit of the invention; and, therefore, I do not limit myself to what is shown in the drawings and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the appended claims.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is:

A football training device for speeding up the action of a plurality of players, comprising a rigid frame, pads yieldably supported on the frame for individual movement by the players, signaling means, and means for operating the signaling means when all of the pads have been moved to a given extent against the action of their yieldable supporting means.

2. A device for speeding up and synchronizing the action of a football squad, comprising a rigid frame, pads carried by the frame, yieldable means for holding the pads in an idle position, individual signals related to the respective pads, a common signal, connections for operating the individual signals as the corresponding pads are moved against the action of said yieldable means, and connections for operating the common signal only when all the pads have been moved to a predetermined extent against such action.

3. A football practice device comprising a frame, a horizontal series of bumpers along one side only of said frame, means for supporting said bumpers including devices guiding individual bumpers for linear. movement transversely of said frame, and yieldable means normally holding the bumpers at the limit of their movement away from said frame.

4. A football practice device comprising a frame, a series of bumpers thereon, means for supporting said bumpers including devices for guiding individual bumpers for linear movement transversely of the frame, yieldable means normally holding the bumpers at one limit of their movement a control box, electric lamps arranged therein, and connections from the individual lamps to individual bumpers for energizing said lamps as the respective bumpers are moved to predetermined position by a player against the resistance of said yieldable means.

5. A football practice device comprising a frame, a series of bumpers, means for supporting said bumpers including devices guiding individual bumpers for movement toward and from said frame, yieldable means normally holding the bumpers at one limit of their movement, an audible signal, and; connections from the bumpers to the signal for operating the same only when all the bumpers have assumed positions at a predetermined distance from their normal position.

6. A football practice device comprising a frame, a series of bumpers, means for supporting said bumpers including devices guiding individual bumpers for movement toward and from said frame, yieldable means normally holding the bumpers at one limit of their movement and individual signaling means operable by movement of said bumpers as each one reaches a predetermined position, and another signaling means operable by said bumpers when all the gumpers of a set have reached a predetermined position.

7. A football charging sled having a row of upstanding levers at its rear side, yieldable means for normally holding said levers in a normal idle position, bumpers on said levers, means at the front of the sled for supporting an observer, signals for the respective bumpers located adjacent the observers support, and operatin connections from said bumpers to said signaling means for actuating each signal as its bumper reaches a predetermined position.

8. A football training device comprising a frame, a bumper yieldably mounted thereon at a height for contact by a charging football player, a signaling device, and means for closing an electric circuit to said signal upon movement of the bumper to a predetermined extent.

9. In a device for training football players to act in synchronism, the combination of a sled, bumpers movably mounted upon the sled, an individual signal for each one of a set of bumpers, connections from each individual bumper to a signal for operating that signal when the corresponding player has moved his bumper to a predetermined extent, a signal common to all of the bumpers of the set, and connections from the bumpers to the common signal for operating the common signal only when all of the players have moved their bumpers to a predetermined extent.

10. In a device for training football players to act in unison, a sled, bumpers movably mounted thereon, a signaling means on the sled, and connections from the bumpers to the signaling means for giving a signal only when all the bumpers of a group have been moved to a predetermined extent.

11. In a device for training football players to act in unison, a sled, bumpers movably mounted on the sled, signaling means on the sled, an electric circuit in which said signaling means is connected, and switches in said circuit for each individual bumper, each of said switches being operable by movement of its bumper, whereby a signal will be given when all the bumpers have been moved sufliciently to close their switches.

12. In a device for training football players, a

sled, audible signaling means on the sled, an electrical circuit in which said signaling means is connected, an independent bumper on said sled for each of a group of players, a separate circuit closer in said circuit for each of said bumpers, each bumper having means carried thereby for operating its individual circuit closer as the player completes a charging or blocking operation, whereby said signal is operated only when all of the bumpers are actuated.

13. In a football practice device, the combination of a rigid frame, a series of levers along a side of the same and pivoted at their lower ends to swing toward and away from the frame, means tending to swing the levers away from the frame, means limiting such movement, means for guiding the levers in such movement, a bumper on the upper end portion of each lever, a circuit including a circuit closer for each lever, said circuit closers each comprising a plunger on the lever movable through a hole in the frame and a fixed element at the opposite side of the frame in position to be engaged by the corresponding plunger upon movement of the lever to a predetermined extent, whereby the signal is operated only when all the levers have been so moved.

14. In a football practice device, the combination of a rigid frame, a lever pivoted thereon adjacent the lower part of said frame, a bumper on the lever approximately at the shoulder height of a charging football player, a guide rod extending from the upper end of the lever into a hole in an adjacent portion of the rigid frame, yieldable means forcing the upper end of the lever away from the rigid frame, a fixed circuit closing member on the frame, a circuit closing member at an intermediate position on the lever and movable therewith toward the frame and into circuit closing relation with the fixed circuit closing member for closing a circuit upon movement of the lever toward the frame, and a signal operated upon closing of the circuit.

ALLEN J. GARDENHOUR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 930,761 J acka Aug. 10, 1909 1,095,902 Marston May 5, 1914 1,436,846 Willimann Nov. 28, 1922 1,665,560 Nelson Apr. 10, 1928 1,762,435 Brett June 10, 1930 1,821,264 King Sept. 1, 1931 1,962,088 Crowther June 5, 1934 2,237,600 Gihnan Apr. 8, 1941 2,255,711 Noor Sept. 9, 1941 2,296,311 Schneider Sept. 22, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 365,267 Great Britain Jan. 21, 1932 

